A woman has been charged with murder after believing that her Uber driver was kidnapping her, according to police.
Phoebe Copas, 48, has been charged with murder after police say she shot 52-year-old Daniel Piedra Garcia after wrongly believing that he was kidnapping her, El Paso police said.
“Phoebe Copas was originally booked for Aggravated Assault Causing Serious Bodily Injury. Daniel J. Piedra Garcia, unfortunately, succumbed to his injuries and Crimes Against Persons Detectives obtained a warrant for Copas with a charge of Murder with a bond of $1,500,000 signed by Judge Aun,” El Paso police said in a statement.
Investigators say that Copas shot Piedra during a trip to meet with her boyfriend at a casino. Police said that there was no evidence for the alleged kidnapping, but that Copas was frightened by signs that read “Juarez, Mexico,” KTSM reported.
“At some point during the drive, Copas thought she was being taken into Mexico and shot Piedra,” police said. “The investigation does not support that a kidnapping took place or that Piedra was veering from Copas’ destination.”
Piedra, who was shot in the back of the head and wrist, was taken off life support this week after being shot on June 16. Copas is being held on a $1.5 million bond and is accused of texting her boyfriend an image of the wounded Garcia before calling the police.
“On Friday June 16, 2023 my husband Daniel Piedra was working for Uber when his passenger shot him in the head. He is the sole provider for our family and was unable to work for a while because he hurt his knee at his last job and had to have surgery on April 18, 2023,” a GoFundMe organized by Piedra’s wife says, adding that the money raised will go toward hospital and funeral expenses.
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Piedra’s family was shocked by the news, saying that they couldn’t believe that he was the victim when they heard the news of the shooting.
“I miss him and I wish this wouldn’t have happened to him,” said niece Didi Lopze. “He didn’t deserve that, no one deserves that.”
Uber said that it was horrified by the incident and that it would assist the investigation in any way possible.